Aged 11, Sanju was sent by her parents in rural Nepal to work for a carpet factory in the capital Kathmandu. They were assured she would be paid and well looked after. That was the last they heard of her. Her new employer had her working from 4am until 8pm, seven days a week. She stitched knots until her fingers bled. An animated video of Sanju’s story forms part of a global push to see the elimination of child labour included in the United Nations’ post-2015 development goals. Launched this week to coincide with End Child Slavery Week, the campaign is headed by child labour activist Kailash Satyarthi, joint winner of this year’s Nobel Peace prize. The US Department of Labor estimates as many as one in three children in Nepal work (88% of whom are employed in the agriculture sector). Lack of government action allows child labour to continue too. According to Odegard, none of her Nepalese producers have ever received a visit from a state inspector. In Gautam’s view, the problem stems not from resource shortages but from a lack of political will and from pervasive corruption. “There are no kickbacks when it comes to rescuing boys and girls from child labour”, he observes. The fault doesn’t lie solely with the Nepalese, however. The country’s rug and carpet market is almost entirely-export focused. But demand for child labour-free products in key markets such as the US, UK and Germany remains sluggish.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 01:53:56 +0000
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